I moved to Halifax from Calgary about a year and a half ago. I’m from the West Coast and moved around BC and Alberta. I like physical fitness, video game design, reading, and, of course, writing.
I’m drawn and love everything sci-fi—it’s my jam! I love writing about it, too. It’s my goal to be a professional novelist in the sci-fi genre, but I’m not limiting myself to it. I really enjoy writing in speculative, mystery and fiction. I have concept novels for each genre.
Why do I love these genres? I guess I love the worlds they create, either a modification of our own or an entirely new one. I enjoy how, in each world with the use of technology or magic, the stories describe an aspect of the human condition and contemplate if/how we can do better, and should we?
In my spare time, I’m making video games. It’s another storytelling aspect, and I’ve always loved playing them. I’m working on a Mario-like platformer that I hope to have completed soon. I’ll post images and ideas on my blog when possible.
Now for something a bit… boring… I used to be in the sciences. That isn’t boring; it’s quite exciting! The boring part is me listing what I’ve done previously. I used to be a Civil Engineering Technologist focused on Municipal Design. Then I expanded and became a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Specialist who works with databases and cartography. Saying it and reading it can sound boring, but honestly, it was really fun to work in, believe me.
Being a technologist—a technologist to an engineer is like the level of a nurse to a doctor—I loved drafting. It’s similar to modelling in 3D. GIS is the same as well, except it takes all the drafting and relates it to these crazy things we take for granted in the world. Like the line that transports our water into the faucet or driving on the surface of the road. It takes all those lines on a drawing and adds data that means something. All that expands and comes full circle for me to write code for video games and make worlds come alive. It’s all visual and relatable.
Maybe you’d think I’m nerdy or a geek. I’m proud to say that I am, but I like things that aren’t like that, exercise and cooking, for example. In a past life, I was also a Zumba instructor.
A fun little tidbit about me, I’m learning (half-ass-idly) the penny whistle in the hopes of one day playing Concerning Hobbits. It’s a simple goal, but one that will take many months as I can only dedicate ten minutes a day to it when I’m free of school. Yep, that’s right. I’m in school. I love online education, and I’ve almost completed the Creative Writing Certificate (CWC) from the University of Calgary. The CWC is helped improve my writing and my view of how to express myself and share (hopefully interact) with you guys.
Thanks for reading about me. Check out my blog to see more of my work.
Mike
Let’s build something together.
Michael Leask 